British Modern Military History Society

THE British Modern Military History Society, which is based in Woodcote, celebrates its fifth anniversary this month.

The society was formed following a chance meeting of brothers Andy and Jerry Cockeram with Nigel and Linda Parker in late 2018 at a history talk in Sonning.

They found they were of like mind with a deep interest in military history.

The socity was formed and a schedule of talks was created with speakers including writers, historians and former military personnel.

The span of our talk topics is the last 200 years with a strong emphasis on the events of the 20th century.

The first talk in May 2019 was by historian Bill King on “The Upper Thames Patrol: the real Dad’s Army” about the British auxiliary units in the Second World War and the defences in place had the Germans invaded in 1940.

About 25 people were crammed into Nigel and Linda’s living room and from the point the society flourished.

Quickly moving to the excellent facilities at Woodcote village hall with a capacity of up to 100 people, the monthly talks attracted full houses with interesting talks, a raffle and free beer, wine and snacks included within the entry price.

From each talk a donation is made to a military charity of the speaker’s choice.

The arrival of covid put a hold on the live talks but presented other opportunities and monthly talks via Zoom were soon started, allowing both a wider audience and a greater choice of speakers.

In addition, Operation Bookworm was launched with our members and others requested to send in their own memories or family members of wartime experiences.

The first volume of Glimpses of War was published on Amazon in April 2021.

The charity Blind Veterans UK (formerly St Dunstan’s) was selected as the charity to benefit from book sales.

The response for articles and memories was overwhelming and volume 2 of Glimpses of War was published a few months later.

A third book in the series was published six months later in June 2022, Glimpses of the Falklands War, to mark the 40th anniversary of the conflict.

All three books have been very well received and considerable funds have been raised from book sales.

Another highlight is Glimpses of the Falklands War being for sale at the Falkland Islands Museum in Stanley.

Today, with things largely back to normal after the pandemic, the society has recommenced its monthly live talks in Woodcote and has continued its monthly Zoom talks too.

The society is not-for-profit and does not require a joining or membership fee.

All talks are open to everyone to attend or join. All we ask is a small contribution to help us cover our costs and to enable us to continue making our charitable contributions.

In five years, the society has organised more than 75 live and Zoom talks, published three books, raised thousands of pounds for military charities and entertained and informed audiences across the globe with high quality history talks in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere.

An exciting and varied programme of talks for 2024 is now in place, ranging from the Peninsular Wars, the Eastern Front in the Second World War, the Battle of Britain, the Dieppe raid, D-Day, the Falklands War and the first Gulf War.

For more details of our talks, visit www.bmmhs.org and to join our talks email us on info@bmmhs.org

A big thank you to everyone who has supported us in the last five years.

We look forward to seeing you all again and many new faces in 2024 and beyond.

Andy Cockeram,
chairman